


Rain

by heelnev



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Pre-Relationship, sorta??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 12:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11714322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heelnev/pseuds/heelnev
Summary: Wade never liked to drive in the rain... but he was willing to do it for him.





	Rain

**Author's Note:**

> This can technically be seen as a prequel to "Snooping", but it can be read on its own.

Wade had never liked driving in the rain. He was confident that he was a good driver, but something about being in the pouring rain made him feel uneasy. Like he was putting himself at extra risk for getting in an accident. The people in his neighborhood were already terrible at driving -- they only got worse when the weather was poor. If he had his way, he would be home, watching the rain fall from the safety of his warm and dry bedroom. He had made a pact of sorts with himself to never drive in the rain unless he absolutely needed to.

He had no choice but to go out this time around, however.

There was only one friend of Wade’s that he would bend his little rule for, and that was Neville. More often than not, he was readily prepared to tell his friends ‘no’ (occasionally ‘hell no’) whenever they asked for ridiculous favors. Had this been Zack or Drew or Eva -- hell, _especially_ Eva -- then they would have been left to fend for themselves. But something about the tone in Neville’s voice and the puppy-dog look in his eyes made Wade give in every time without fail. He was a complete softie when it came to Neville, and he was powerless to stop it.

This time, Neville had gone to get something from the supermarket that his mother needed to make dinner that night. What he didn’t expect was that the 10% chance of rain that the weatherman had predicted was a little off, and he was currently stuck under an awning outside of the store without an umbrella. He would have no other choice but to walk home and get soaked… that is, unless a certain best friend of his was willing to pick him up and drive him.

“The shit I do for him, I swear to God…” Wade muttered to himself as he carefully drove on the empty streets. It would bug him for the rest of the day if he’d just left Neville to fend for himself in the middle of a downpour. _The kid can barely handle meeting a new professor on the first day of class,_ Wade thought bemusedly. _Like hell he can do_ _**this**. _

Wade pulled up to the curb in front of the store, parking not too far away from where Neville was. Looking through the raindrop speckled windows, Wade could see that he looked relieved, and that caused a warm feeling to well up in him. At least _someone_ was happy to see him for once.

“You’re a lifesaver, Wade,” Neville breathed as he slid into the passenger’s seat, dropping the grocery bag by his feet as he buckled his seatbelt. “I owe you one.”

“Yes, you do.” Wade frowned once he got a closer look at him. “Is that my hoodie you’re wearing? I was wondering where it went.”

Neville looked guilty, a hand reaching up and fiddling with one of the drawstrings of the light orange sweatshirt. He cleared his throat. “Eheh, yeah… You left it at my house a few weeks ago. I, uh… kinda grew attached to it. I can give it back if you want.”

“No, no, don’t worry about it. Old thing barely fit me anyway,” Wade assured. “And I don’t want your cooties. Besides, you look really nice in it.”

“Why, thank you.” Neville looked smug at the compliment, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

“You even have the hipster glasses on to complete the look,” Wade mocked as he started to drive. “I thought you only wore those when you’re at home. Don’t you still have your contacts in?”

“I did, but I took them out after class ended. Then I had to go run out to the store, and I was in no mood to put them back in.” He shrugged. “Don’t tell anyone about this. I don’t want them thinking I’m some kind of fucking nerd or something.”

“God forbid.” They pulled up to a red light, Wade tapping his fingers against the wheel. He had grown to hate this particular light ever since he first started driving. It _always_ took an eternity to change.

Neville stared out at the rain for a few seconds before saying, “I’m sorry to make you come out to get me, by the way. I know how you feel about driving in this kind of weather.”

“Nev, it’s fine. If I didn’t want to come out, I would’ve told you to go scratch. Just ask Zack if you don’t believe me. He’ll tell you all about the time he asked me for a ride home from that stupid Halloween party…” Wade shook his head, silently breathing a sigh of relief when the light turned green.

“I remember you telling me about that. He called you at, like, three in the morning, didn’t he?”

“Two,” Wade corrected. “He called me at two saying that he and Drew desperately needed to get home, but I wasn’t about to risk my parents getting mad at me because they’re too stupid to call a cab. Eva ended up taking them out of the kindness of her heart.”

“You’ve known Zack for way longer than you’ve known me and you _still_ told him ‘no’ and me ‘yes’. You must really like me.” Neville smiled.

“...I do,” Wade admitted. “You’re my best friend, Nev. You know I’d do anything for you.”

“You’re being unusually sweet today,” Neville noted, trying to ignore his burning cheeks. "Who are you, and what have you done to the real Wade?"

“You know how it is when we’re alone.” Wade rounded the corner onto Neville’s street. “We don’t have any bullshit ‘tough guy’ images to maintain. I can say how I really feel without worrying about anyone else making fun of me.”

“I like this side of you.” He played with the drawstrings of the hoodie again, twirling one of them around his finger. “It’s nice. You should show it more often.”

“Only around you, and _maybe_ Zack. I know you at the very least won’t tease me.” They pulled up in front of Neville’s house. Wade put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, holding it there for maybe a little too long before saying, “Remember to bring an umbrella next time, dumbass.”

“It’s not my fault the meteorologists failed at doing their job today!” Neville defended himself, cutely puffing out his cheeks as he reached down to grab the bag. “Seriously, though, I really appreciate you coming out to save me from walking all the way home in this mess. I swear, I could kiss you right now!”

“Oh, come on, there’s no need for that…” Wade smiled sheepishly, looking away in embarrassment.

Neville decided to capitalize on this, and he leaned in, swiftly kissing Wade’s cheek before backing off. Wade’s eyes shot open wide, his mouth agape at the gesture. Neville didn’t look perturbed in the slightest by what he did -- in fact, he looked almost proud at the fact that he caught Wade off guard.

“Thanks again! And be careful getting home, ‘mmkay?” Neville shot him one last smile before exiting the car, leaving a baffled Wade by himself.

Wade made sure that Neville got inside safely before he drove off, the same shocked look from earlier still plastered on his face. After giving it some thought, he wasn’t sure what was a more alarming discovery: the fact that Neville had called him out to drive him home when he was wearing a _hooded sweatshirt_ that could have easily protected him from the rain…  
  
…Or the fact that he found himself wanting _more_ than just a simple kiss on the cheek.


End file.
